Highway marker



April13,19377. Q Mms r 2,076,907

HIGHWAY MARKER' Filed June B, 1934 JOA lNvr-:No'gzr #ma w. BY Ma, www@ ATTORNEYS l Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNITED STATES 4-1 ATENT olii-ICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in highway markers.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved form of metallic markers in the shape of an appropriate symbol such as may be affixed upon a background board to permit the board to be painted by inexperienced labor and thereby to effect great economies in the manufacture and maintenance of a highway system.

10 ,Anotherobject of the invention is the provision of an improved type of metallic symbol applicable to a suitable support and provided with means rendering it substantially waterproof in its engagement with said support to prevent deterioration either of the symbol or of the support.

A furtherl very important object of the invention is to provide unitarily a highway marker symbol including portions conspicuous by day as well as by night, the portion conspicuous by night havf Figure 3 is a View taken lin cross-section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2. if Figure 4 is a detailed view in elevation of the shoe used for the mounting of the marker and illustrated in Figure 3. Figure 5 is a front elevational view of ,a modifled invention.

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail taken in cross- 40 section in the plane indicated at I--6 in Figure 5.-

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

It is common practice in the marking of highways to use boards 'I mounted on pos'ts' and pantednot only for the protection of thel board but also to render the marker thereon conspicuous both by night and by day. In the past it has been customary to stencil the symbgl or marker in. paint on the face -of the board, but this not only requires a certain amount of skill but also requires that the board be the faceted type since it is necessary to let the background coat of paintdry before the symbol can be painted thereon It has been found that the additional cost of the stenciling operation is more than sufiicient to compensate for the expense of a metallic marker applied to the board in such removable form that it can be taken ofi for the painting operation and reapplied thereto.

In accordance with the present invention, the marker or symbol device comprises a light sheet metal shell 9 applied to a relatively heavy cast or stamped shoe at I0 fromrwhich the bolts I I project rearwardly for anchoring the shoe land the attached shell to the mounting b oard 1. The shoe is conveniently ribbed at I2 for strength and the shell 9 has flanged marginal portions l5 engaged over the edges of the shoe to be clamped between the shoe and the mounting board when the bolts II are subjected to tension.

In order to prevent the unauthorized removal of these devices casually from the mounting boards, each vboard is preferably provided at I6 with a counter bore into which the semi-spherical nut I1 is received to a depth suiiicient to make the notches I8 and themargin of the nut substantially inaccessible except to persons equipped with the proper wrench.

The shell 9 is preferably finished in two contrasting colors or finishes. It includes at I9 a l relatively broad border which in practice is preferably enameled black. As above indicated, the outline of the shell is that of the desired symbol which in the case of Figs. 1 and 2, happens to be an arrow indicating a curv'e or turn to the right.

Spaced within the margin of the shell is a bead 20 of like conformation. The area enclosed by the bead is entirely filled with closely associated spherically concave indentations 2l. The bead 20 and the indentations 2| are preferably plated -or polished to provide as permanently as possible, a, highly reflecting surface. The border is preferably non-reflective.

It has been foundl that if this reflecting surface is to anv degree planiform it will, to that degree, fail to serve its purpose of indicating proper dlrections for the motorists. The light reflected from a planiform or smoothly rounded surface A will tend to be merely a spot or line which does not give any sufficient indication of a character for symbol. It has also beenfound that if the surface has been covered with protuberances or faceted projections it is also less satisfactory than a. surface which is pitted or indented and surrounded by a light reflecting bead in the manner herein disclosed. The size orcross-section of the indentations is also important to the best embodiments of the invention. It has been found that this size should preferably be three-eighths of an inch across, and the indentations should be set as closely together as is reasonably practicable.

The construction shown in Figures 5 and 6 is similar to that herein disclosed except that herein the shoe 25 and shell 26 have a generally rectangular form and the border 25|- is suiliciently extensive to permit of a number of symbols being pressed from its face as for example the letters 30 comprising the word "stop. Each of the letters has the indentations 2| and surrounding light reflecting bead 20 hereinbefore described and the symbol is made light reflecting as already set forth.

The particular character of the reecting surface of my sign is not claimed herein, but is described more particularly and separately claimed in my companion application No. 45,450 flied October 17, 1935.

The constructions herein disclosed all have the advantage that they are applicable to existing highway sign boards to greatly decrease the maintenance cost thereof, while at the same time rendering the marking symbols highly conspicuous both by day and by night.

I claimz- 1. A highway marker comprising the combination with a marginally flanged shoe, of a bolt connected with the shoe and projecting therefrom in the same direction as the flange, and an imperforate shell applied over said shoe and upset about said flange whereby to be clamped to the surface to which said bolt is attached, said shell being provided with a highly polished re'- flecting surface having the outline of a symbol, said surface being provided with embossed pits uniformly distributed in the form of said symbol and ensaaing said shoe for support therefrom.

2. A highway marker comprising the combination with a shoe having the outline of'a given symbol, of means for mounting said shoe, a shell applied over said shoe and conforming in outline thereto, and means providing lisht reflecting surfaces on said shell intermediate the margins thereof and conforming in outline to the symbol represented by said shell, the area of said shell between said means and the margin of said shell being finished in contrast to said means.

3. A highway marker comprising the combination of a shoe and means for mounting a shoe, of a shell marginally engaged about said shoe and provided adjacent its margins with a planiform and relatively non-reflecting surface, said shell being provided wholly within said surface, with a highly reflecting surface of symbolic outline provided at short intervals with concave recesses whereby to distribute light reection substantially uniformly throughout said outline.

4. A highway marker comprising a member provided about its margin with a substantially non-reflecting area and provided intermediate its margins and surrounded by said non-reflecting area with a reflecting area of symbolic contour, a reflecting rib surrounding said reflecting area and a series of closely grouped concave recesses distributed throughout said retlecting area.

5. A highway marker comprising the combination'with a mounting shoe and a shell marginally engaged about said shoe, .of means rendering a background portion of said shell relatively non-reective and means in symbolic form on the face of said shell rendering highly light reflective those portions of said face in the area demarcated by said non-reflective means.

6. A highway marker comprising the combination with a backboard having a hole and a counter bore, of a shoe provided with a bolt extending through the hole and a nut operable only by a special tool threaded to said bolt and socketed in said counter bore, and a shell applied over said shoe and having its margins in pressure engagement between the margins of said shoe and said board, said shoe and shell having the contour oi' a trame-directing symbol.

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